I landed on the dark waters, the captain's shouts for the ships to increase speed echoing through the night as they sped away, utilizing some kind of water jutsu to move much faster than they had any right to.
The clouds were clearing, revealing the stars and moon, which illuminated the deep ocean in a dim light.
"Yoru, go with the ships and reverse summon me the moment you're at the camp they're heading to," I instructed the cat, intending to have Zangetsu help me in the fight.
He is more suited to battling Yagura than Yoru is.
"Kid... this is a horrible idea," Kurama interjected, his voice more serious than usual.
"Fighting Yagura at sea is definitely one of my worst decisions to date... but I can't let him kill the others," I replied through our link, sensing Yagura's massive chakra signature rapidly approaching.
It seemed I was indeed getting the fight I came here for, though I was unprepared for it.
Yagura wasn't supposed to be here; I had fully expected him to be in the south, helping with their defense.
I unsealed Hiramekarei. It would be much better if Yagura believed some rebel had awakened Crystal Release rather than realizing I was here from Konoha.
Not using Senbonzakura might prove to be impossible, though. Even without the stat increase that a real Zanpakuto would provide, the versatility of my bootleg Bankai is immense.
"Are you ready, Zangetsu?" I asked the little Bakeneko.
"First real fight... We'll win," he responded bluntly as usual.
"We'd better... I don't think Yagura will show mercy."
The few minutes stretched on, feeling like hours. By the time Yagura was close, I had a plan. It may not have been a good one, but I had one.
Through the dark night, I didn't see nor hear him, but I easily sensed him moving closer.
Just like his swordsmen, he was highly skilled in Silent Killing; he made no sound at all.
He swung his large hooked club, meeting Hiramekarei in a clash that made the ocean ripple and splash beneath us.
I reinforced my body with both chakra and haki, barely holding him back.
Usually, I would parry and deflect, but I couldn't let him pass me. A full, stationary block would attract his attention much more effectively.
A soft silvery-blue glow illuminated Hiramekarei as I swung it, pushing Yagura back from the lock.
He landed expertly on the ocean's surface, his gaze sharpening significantly.
"Stand aside. I'm reclaiming my prisoners," he stated, his voice devoid of emotion.
"No can do. I just went through all that trouble to free them," I shrugged, not moving an inch. My mind was racing; this wasn't an easy block. I had to exert a significant amount of power into our clash.
"Then I'll kill you first," he declared in a detached tone, as if I were just a mild annoyance.
—
His right hand quickly executed a sequence of five hand seals, stirring the ocean below to life, causing a dozen dragons made of water to rise and rush towards me.
I recognized the jutsu immediately; it was one of the most iconic Water Style techniques.
I stabbed Hiramekarei into the water below me, using the chakra stored in it to rapidly crystallize Yagura's approaching water dragons and the ocean beneath our feet. I felt a massive influx of chakra flood back into me, fully recharging me with chakra to spare.
"I see, so you are not a simple rebel..." Yagura sighed before charging, emotion flickering into his eyes for the first time—perhaps annoyance, maybe mild anger; I couldn't tell for certain.
I reinforced myself again, finding I could keep up as Hiramekarei's glowing blade flashed through the night to meet his hooked club.
The clash shattered the closest crystallized dragon, but I didn't need it intact to keep drawing on the gathered chakra.
A quick one-handed hand seal later, the shattered remnants of the crystallized water dragon shot towards Yagura. He flared his chakra, a coral growth forming an impressive armor that shielded him from the majority of the crystal needles. The few that hit him had little to no effect. He yanked them out and continued his assault, a shroud of translucent orange chakra enveloping him.
He was slowly but surely getting serious, and he was also feeding the crystallized platform we stood on with more and more chakra, giving me more to work with with each passing second.
Zangetsu entered the fight as well, unleashing a stream of white-hot flames towards Yagura.
A thick wall of water intercepted Zangetsu's attack, creating a dense cloud of steam that quickly morphed into mist, further limiting our visibility.
I glanced over at Zangetsu; he had already grown to about the size of a fully grown lion, and he was still growing further.
His special ability was clearly kicking into high gear, making him stronger the longer the fight lasted.
—
Dozens of Water Clones split off from Yagura, covering the battlefield from every direction. Each clone easily capable of launching multiple high-ranked water jutsus at us.
There was no sound or scent we could use to track him; his mastery of the famous Hiding in the Mist jutsu was superior to anyone I had ever encountered.
Even his chakra felt muted.
Seasoned sensory ninjas would undoubtedly have trouble locating him and his clones, and so would I if this was the only sensory ability I had.
Unfortunately for Yagura, Observation Haki acted as a cheat in such situations, as it sensed the very spirit rather than chakra.
Zangetsu, on the other hand, was a powerful sage creature capable of sensing natural energy present in everything and everyone. His sensory abilities may not have been as advanced as Yoru's, but he still had a way to find our opponent.
The clones initiated a coordinated assault using long-range jutsu.
A needle-thin jet of water rushed toward me, effortlessly piercing through one of the crystallized water dragons from earlier. I dodged to the side, eager to keep every part of my body away from such a lethal attack.
More clones followed, and a blast of water the size of a proper tsunami surged toward the crystal platform but crystallized before it could reach its target.
I fully crystallized myself and fired off dozens of crystal bullets, aiming to intercept as many attacks as possible.
Yagura's original body came side-by-side with two of his clones.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The two clones channeled a massive amount of chakra into the jutsu, unleashing a colossal volume of water.
The original Yagura did not remain idle; he formed his own jutsu.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The mass of water released by his clones accelerated rapidly, forcing me to pick up Zangetsu and use Hirenkyaku to abandon my position on the crystal platform.
"Damn. That's some impressive area coverage..." I said, observing how the lower part of the massive wave crystallized, transforming the crystal platform into something resembling a layered cake designed to look like a lotus flower, albeit by someone with only a vague description of one.
"That was a big one..." Zangetsu commented, looking quite uncomfortable in his larger form as he was being carried. To be fair, he was significantly bigger than me right now.
"Go hunt down his clones; I'll handle his actual body," I instructed, letting go of Zangetsu and giving him the chance to fight away from the chaos while hopefully growing stronger in the process.
I landed on the apex of the crystal formation, which was already sizable enough to be considered an island. I was about to expand it even further.
"Crystal Release: Advent of a Crystal World!" I declared.
The ocean around the platform stilled, its composition changing abruptly. Waves froze mid-motion, completely transforming the surroundings, with the pink surface reflecting the stars above in a way water never could.
Some of the clones that were closer to me were instantly crystallized, becoming statues along the surface of what once was the deep sea.
I felt pillars of crystal extending all the way to the sea floor, stabilizing the platform into an island of sorts.
It kept growing, utilizing Yagura's chakra to become more durable and larger.
—
Isobu's chakra spiked dangerously as Yagura drew more of it.
The orange shroud transformed into a cloak that closely enveloped his form, its color shifting to a deep crimson. The change forced the man onto all fours to stabilize himself, while two massive tails made entirely of biju chakra flailed angrily behind him.
"And here it is..." I whispered to myself, Kurama growling at the back of my mind.
Yagura charged at me, abandoning his weapon in favor of his newly grown claws and tails.
He rolled into a ball, the rough spikes along his back aimed to eviscerate me upon contact.
I quickly flashed away using Hirenkyaku, desperately searching for a moment to counterattack. I didn't have much time to consider my strategy and had to dodge again and again, unable to strike back.
Although the hit-and-run tactics forced me to move, I could still mostly track him. Observation Haki warned me a split second before he would impact me each time, keeping me alive.
However, the onslaught was accelerating rapidly as he rolled my way.
I noticed a third tail growing from Yagura's lower back before it rolled inward, joining the other two.
The speed increase was immense, almost catching me on his first charge.
Realizing I couldn't dodge him forever, I crystallized myself completely. Haki coated Hiramekarei as I swung it, clashing with his rolling charge.
The crackling of Conqueror's Infusion, combined with my advanced Armament, tore through his cloak.
"Divine Departure!" I cried out, the impact shattering my crystallized arms and sending Yagura flying away.
My arms fully reformed after a moment, but dull pain throbbed through me. If I hadn't crystallized, that impact would have completely shattered my bones, rendering my arms useless.
Yagura was cut in two from his right shoulder all the way to the middle of his torso.
I could see blood and bones, even one of his lungs was split in two, but the biju chakra healed him immediately.
His posture shifted; I wasn't as confident as I would be against someone else in the same situation. I could harm him, yes, but that was the most powerful attack I could perform without significant preparation.
I lacked a reliable way to kill him.
—
Yagura roared and began to form a dark violet ball of chakra before his jaw.
"Bijudama... last time I saw this, I almost died." I chuckled, though there was no humor in my voice.
I sensed that Zangetsu was still figting off the clones, so I was on my own here.
I pulled on as much chakra as I could, channeling it into my next jutsu.
"Crystal Release: Armor Layered Wall!" I shouted, slamming both of my hands into the crystal ground beneath.
The entire island shook as a massive, thick, layered wall sprang up just in time. A moment later, the Bijudama flew towards me, exploding against my defenses. The world went white for an instant, the loud explosion and bright light overwhelming my senses.
Thankfully, I wasn't hit by any debris, but I had to move even before I could see.
Yagura sped around the wall, which I felt was barely standing, slowly crumbling due to the damage.
I used Hirenkyaku to gain an aerial advantage. While I was giving up the ability to draw on the chakra stored in the crystals, I desperately needed the breathing room.
"Well, this is bad..." I gasped, finally able to see the damage my defenses had taken.
In the center of the massive wall was a deep crater-like dent that penetrated nearly all the way through.
"If I had funneled less chakra into the jutsu…"
I winced at what might have happened.
"Kid! Focus!" I heard Kurama's warning just in time to sense Yagura forming another Bijudama.
This one was much weaker, but I suspected I knew the reason why.
I moved immediately. Yagura's attack shot through the place where I had been floating, just missing me.
A barrage of smaller, weaker Bijudama followed after me, no matter where I ran.
"You're lucky, kid. Lucky that he's clearly taking Isobu's chakra against his will," Kurama grumbled, his voice more murderous than I'd heard in years.
"You can tell?" I asked, slightly confused by Kurama's assessment.
"This isn't how Isobu's power feels... His cloak would look much different than it does now," he explained and I kept listening, still desperately dodging Yagura's barrage of small Biju bombs.
"Like Yugito's, with blue flames coating her entire body?" I recalled quickly, thinking back to her unique-looking chakra cloak, which I had previously chalked up to be a ninjutsu.
"Hn, exactly. Our chakra carries special powers, powers we can lend out to a jinchuriki if we want to," he confirmed, leaving me even more puzzled.
Such a thing hadn't existed in the original timeline at all; all the cloaks looked almost identical.
"Good to know..." I murmured, deciding to buy myself some time.
It was clear that I couldn't kill Yagura as long as he was using Isobu's chakra, not to mention he was fast enough to make it nearly impossible for me to catch him with my sealing chains in this form.
—
"I see why they would give that sword to you..." Yagura's voice sliced through the brief silence after his barrage ended.
His tone was inhuman, reminiscent of corals scraping against each other.
"But being able to dodge is not enough to win a battle; you must realize that." He added, rolling into a ball again before rushing back, much faster than before.
I barely had enough time to crystallize myself.
I felt my body shatter completely, the fragments floating back to reform me, using an unholy amount of chakra to regrow to my full body without any injury. That hit would have completely atomized my normal form.
"I feel like I'm fucked..." I groaned, barely dodging another attack from the furiously rolling jinchuriki.
A massive jet of white-hot flames enveloped Yagura, who changed direction, his cloak smoking for a moment.
Some of that damage got through, but not enough to actually injure him.
"Done with the clones. Now for this guy's real body..." Zangetsu said, already so large that I barely reached his thighs.
"Zangetsu... you have no idea how perfect your timing is," I replied, as the grin on the cat's face was infectious.
"Together..." I resolved myself and readied a massive sword slash with Hiramekarei, the blade glowing like a dim star with chakra.
Yagura didn't give us much time to plan.
A massive wave of pressurized air blasted us, forcing me to glue myself to the ground below with chakra. Zangetsu did the same, his claws digging into the crystal beneath us to keep him standing.
By the time we were able to move again, Yagura was gone, but in his place stood a massive turtle-like behemoth.
A fully formed Isobu had entered the fight, or at least, its form had.
"Zangetsu!" I yelled out, prompting my companion to fire the most powerful fire jutsu I had seen him do.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" The massive wall of flames barreled toward Yagura. But I couldn't just leave it at that.
I drew on a massive amount of chakra from the crystal below; it was enough to give me a power level almost comparable to the Kirin I had unleashed earlier and enhanced Hiramekarei with it.
"Shiden!" I cried out, unleashing all that power with a single swing of the sword, the purple lightning dancing across the wall of flames as our attacks collided with the behemoth.
A ping in my mind signaled danger.
I saw a jet of water annihilate half of my body from existence for a moment before I returned to reality.
I jumped aside, using Hirenkyaku on instinct. Not even a second later, the water jet arrived, easily piercing through the crystal island beneath us.
Zangetsu moved too, attempting to distract the massive creature.
"Crystal Sealing Chains!" I countered immediately upon landing, pulling together a substantial amount of accumulated chakra to create more chains than I would normally be able to.
The massive biju struggled, but its chakra was being suppressed and siphoned away much faster than usual. Another attack from Zangetsu struck, hitting the exposed eye of the beast and sending it thrashing against my chains, granting me even more chakra to work with.
I created additional chains, desperately trying to subdue it.
"Fucking hell... GO DOWN ALREADY!" I yelled as more chains joined to pin it down.
Another flash ran through my mind; my vision showed me a glimpse of the future once more.
"Zangetsu, don't!" I shouted, and the large cat barely stopped its charge to dodge. Yagura could still move somewhat, using one of his tails to attempt to pierce Zangetsu, but it merely swatted him aside thanks to my warning.
The sharp coral growing on the tip of Isobu's tail receded as I finally managed to suppress the chakra I had not yet sapped away.
Even then, Zangetsu wasn't in good shape, blood running from his side as he reverted back to his normal Bakeneko form, slightly larger than a leopard. It was a massive change from being five times my height just moments before.
I focused on holding Yagura down, nodding at the cat, who quickly reverse-summoned himself.
"Now I've got you..." I growled, adding more and more chains to keep Yagura subdued, the thrashing beast finally stilling.
—
A sharp pain erupted through my body as I was hit hard. I felt my ribs crack, and my control over the chains slipped as I was thrown back.
It was a small wind jutsu; even in this dire state, Yagura managed to unleash one. I barely got to my feet before he was on me in his normal human form.
I just managed to block his next punch, but exhaustion hit me hard. Replenishing my chakra reserves so many times was something I wasn't accustomed to, and it was taking a toll on my ability to focus.
"How did you... get out?" I growled, struggling against the pain of keeping him at bay.
With every breath, it felt like my lungs were being stabbed.
"A coral construct. Though I admit, that jutsu of yours is potent," he replied, sounding both impressed and annoyed.
I laughed, locking eyes with him.
"And you dare hunt those with bloodlines while using a bloodline like that?"
"Ironic, I know. But sometimes, it takes one to recognize the wickedness of his kind," he countered, maintaining a calm expression.
In desperation, I used Hirenkyaku to distance myself from his melee range, quickly crystallizing my body in an attempt to heal at least some of my injuries. Unfortunately, the healing process was too slow to help me much.
Yagura immediately transformed into his three-tailed cloak form, the crimson chakra enveloping him once more. Even though it was considerably weaker than before, it was still more potent than anything I could muster in my current state.
"Goodbye, little rebel. It was a good fight," he said, rearing back for another devastating charge.
"Crystal Release: Dragonscale Armor!" I shouted, enveloped in a pink glow as a form-fitting armor materialized around me.
I infused all the Haki I could muster into my body, ready to meet his charge head-on. Dodging was no longer an option; I was too injured to keep avoiding his attacks.
Yagura's approach this time was more methodical; he didn't roll at me but chose a conventional assault instead.
In the flash of the next second, events unfolded before my eyes, showing me my death in horrific detail, bisected by his chakra-enhanced hand.
I charged at him, wielding Hiramekarei, glowing with all the power it still had to cut through his defense. I managed to dodge the first attack thanks to my newly developed future-sight and aimed my sword at him, but he reacted just as quickly.
"RYUUZAKI!" Kurama's voice rang in my ears.
The last thing I felt was a piercing pain in my lower abdomen as my sword connected with him.
I vaguely heard a poof of smoke, but then I felt nothing, my mind falling into darkness.